There’s a lot of talk about the 2016 Republican Presidential Debate in which most viewers just tune in to see what trick Donald Trump is going to pull out of the absurdity hat this time. But the question is, what about the 2016 Democratic Presidential Debate and why is it very important for the progressives in this country to tune in?

The Democratic Presidential Debate line up so far is Lincoln Chafee, Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb and Bernie Sanders making it less numerous than the Republican equivalent.  However quantity doesn’t equal quality as the saying goes and the reason this debate will be interesting to watch is Bernie Sanders.

The Vermont Senator is the progressive candidate who’s not afraid to answer questions straight forward or declare himself a socialist for fear of being demonized by the media.  As an advocate for campaign finance reform and opposed to Citizens United, He understands that you have a false democracy when there are loads of money in politics where corporations are considered people and their lobbyist in Washington can buy off politicians to vote a certain way making it legalized bribery.

On this very topic he stated “As a result of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, American democracy is being undermined by the ability of the Koch brothers and other billionaire families. These wealthy contributors can literally buy politicians and elections by spending hundreds of millions of dollars in support of the candidates of their choice. We need to overturn Citizens United and move toward public funding of elections so that all candidates can run for office without being beholden to the wealthy and powerful.”

Money in politics is number one on the progressive’s agenda and Bernie Sanders is one of the few politicians that can’t be bought in Washington unlike Hillary Clinton and so on.

Some of his other political positions are financial and criminal justice reform, tuition free colleges, universal healthcare, advocate for climate change action and wants to close the income inequality gap just to name a few. While the media dismisses him as a political lightweight, he has attracted hundreds of thousands at rallies and continues to gain momentum so even though he might not win the nomination, he will shake up the debate with real progressive ideas on stage.

The first debate is scheduled for October 13, 2015, in Las Vegas. It will air on CNN, and will also be broadcast on radio by Westwood One. Anderson Cooper will be the moderator of the debate, with Dana Bash and Juan Carlos Lopez asking additional questions and Don Lemon presenting questions submitted by voters via Facebook.